


Loose Ends

by River_of_Dreams



Series: Dreampath [1]
Category: Bright (2017)
Genre: Gen, Interrogation, Kandomere remains a wildcard, Nick Jakoby is a gift, Nick has poor social skills, Threats
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22510309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/River_of_Dreams/pseuds/River_of_Dreams
Summary: Nick wants nothing more than to eat, shower,maybetake a power nap, and go back to the hospital to stay at Ward's side.Unfortunately, Kandomere has a few questions.
Relationships: Kandomere & Nick Jakoby
Series: Dreampath [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664482
Comments: 10
Kudos: 36





	Loose Ends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ragdoll (Keshka)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keshka/gifts).



> Hey there. I know this one is going to get maybe four hits and one kudos if I’m lucky – I’m late to a rather small party and it’s not even slash – but I couldn’t resist. Bright is the perfect fanfic material: just good enough to be intriguing, just bad enough to be frustrating. Enjoy! I know I did :)
> 
> Gifted to Ragdoll (Keshka), because I'm in love with her characterization of pretty much everyone.

Nick was dead tired as he dragged himself and his grocery bag to the door of his apartment on the sixth floor, and it wasn’t just because he’d vowed never to get stuck in the elevator again and used the stairs instead. He fiddled with the keys that, like everything in this world, seemed to be made for elven hands, or human at worst, not orcish.

Never orcish.

But at least he was doing his best to be the beginning of the curve that will rise into a better future, with more orcish cops and teachers and even doctors, with orc kids earning scholarships and degrees, and affordable keys and kitchen utensils designed to be used by thick, not so nimble hands. Ward’s people were on their own rising curve, pretty far along actually, and before them there had been other undesirables who even made it to something like full equality (with other humans, at least); with a bit of patience and determination, orcs could be the next.

Nick blinked and found his forehead pressed against the wrong side of the door, still out in the hall, key in the lock, unturned.

He’d made it a point never to give his neighbors something to gossip about, either, yet here he was, falling asleep on his feet like a drunk.

He sighed, unstuck himself from the door and let himself through.

And sniffed.

The air was a little stale, a little musty thanks to his clothes in the hamper next to the bedroom door, but otherwise everything seemed to be in order after two days of absence. Nick put the grocery bag on the small kitchen table, shuffled over to the fridge, took the watering can, watered the plant growing in the colorful flowerpot next to it, topped off the watering can, put it back on the fridge, and only then went to fill himself a glass of tap water, largely unconcerned about whatever bacteria the authorities warned about most recently in this part of town, with its ancient, accident-prone pipes.

As he sipped his water, he eyed the plant critically. He had no idea how it was called, but trial and error taught him to water it every three days, and this was the fourth.

It seemed a bit limp, but nothing it couldn’t recover from.

Good. The plant with its garish flowerpot was the only gift he’d ever gotten from his classmates at the Academy and it hadn’t been meant kindly, but that wasn’t the plant’s fault, so he took care of it anyway.

Maybe he should ask somebody to take it if something happened to him.

He didn’t realize he’d blanked out again until a light knock on his door startled him out of it.

Did he forget his keys in the door? That had happened once, and he never found out who was the good soul who alerted him to it with a knock. But, no: His keys were on the hook next to the door as always. Nervous now, he peeked through the peephole, the faint chemical smell of treated wood masking the scent of whoever was outside.

It was a male elf. Hiding in an oversized gray trenchcoat and a soft shapeless hat, but those cold pale eyes were unmistakable even in the dim lighting of the hall.

It was the federal agent, Nick realized with a sick lurch in his stomach. Staring straight at him as if he could see him through the door.

Nick’s palms began to sweat. He could feel every burn, every scrape, and beneath that, the wound Tikka had healed: sapping his strength, reminding him of falling.

He couldn’t fight for his life again.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t leave the agent standing outside, either. He had another beautiful little daydream in which he did just that and his unwanted visitor decided he’s not home and left, but clearly that wasn’t meant to be.

Cringing, Nick opened his door, tensing further when he saw the elf hiding his hands in his deep pockets. The agent merely looked at him, though, until Nick realized what is expected of him and shuffled to the side. Then the elf strolled in like a cat nobody invited.

A glance over the agent’s shoulder reminded Nick that he should close the door, which he promptly did. The elf immediately shed his trenchcoat and hat as if the meagre disguise offended him, which it possibly did. He certainly set it aside on the nearest available surface without much care for it. One perfectly manicured hand ran through disheveled pale blue hair, making it fall to sharply dressed shoulders in a perfect silky curtain as if in a shampoo ad.

All of it, except for one little strand in the back that still stuck straight out. Nick stared at it, feeling as if the universe was glitching. Even when the agent turned to face him, he couldn’t unsee it. Also, there were other imperfections after all: just a hair out of place here and there, but on the otherwise strictly controlled federal agent, they were jarring.

“Yes, Officer Jakoby?“ the elf prompted, wearing the expression of one who resolutely refuses to get unnerved.

Nick came to with a jolt.

“You have,“ he started, and then instead of an explanation mimicked slicking his non-existent hair. “A little. I could-“ He reached out, but snatched his hand back before the elf could even twitch at his proximity. “Do you want to borrow a comb?“

The elf stared at him.

“It’s clean,“ Nick promised, his face warming up.

The elf stared some more.

Nick opened his mouth, but couldn’t find anything to say to break the awkwardness.

“That won’t be necessary, Officer Jakoby.“

“Right. Sorry. Agent-“

“Kandomere,“ the elf filled in smoothly and helped himself to one of Nick’s chairs. The one that had its back to the exit, Nick realized. The one he never used himself. It wasn’t exactly polite, but it was considerate all the same. “Come. Sit.“

Somewhat thrown by the agent inviting him to sit in his own home, Nick cast about for some way to regain a sense of normalcy.

“Um. Tea? Milk? No, probably not milk, might be spoiled after two days.” It was hard to come up with something for an elf, whose diet was mostly meat for sure, while his own as an orc was mostly grains. “I bought eggs. I could make you an omelette.“

The elf studied him. Or something. Whatever it was, he turned on his chair to do it, his expression completely blank. His scent-

He wore a blocker, an olfactory equivalent of white noise, mostly neutral in itself but masking anything but the strongest emotions. Of which there were none.

“Do you have bottled water?“ the agent countered.

Of course. Nick cringed, feeling like a schoolboy who forgot the last lesson. Don’t accept food or drink that could be tampered with was a rule as hard and fast as don’t drink alcohol on the job.

“No, sorry. I drink tap water, but it’d be better to boil it if you’re not used to it.“ Seeing the agent draw a breath to reject the offer, he rushed to add, “You can do it yourself.“

That gave Agent Kandomere a pause, so Nick seized his chance.

“I’ll show you where everything is. I have a few teas you might like. Chamomile, mint. Black currant, apple with cinnamon, and rooibos. Everything packaged, you don’t have to worry.“

It was hard to tell, but he thought the agent’s expression softened. Real gentleness, not pity.

“Officer Jakoby. Your effort to be a good host is noted. If you’re hungry and need to prepare something for yourself, by all means, do so. Otherwise, please sit down.“

Nick hesitated, but there was really nothing he could do. He doubted the elf would leave even if he told him he’d intended to just freshen up a bit and return to the hospital, to Ward’s side. It was the truth, but not one interesting to a fed agent.

Sighing, he moved the bag of groceries to the counter and sat down across from the elf.

The table was so tiny that their knees knocked. Nick hastily slid his chair a couple of inches back.

To his surprise, Agent Kandomere nodded to him in thanks.

Remembering Ward’s admonishment to let the nice agent ask him questions, Nick let the silence stretch, much as it burned him.

“You never finished your report,“ the elf prompted.

Nick squared his shoulders, trying not to look too guilty.

“I did. It’s signed and official.“

“Yes, of course. I’m here for the unofficial one.“

Nick’s skin made a valiant effort to crawl off his body and hide in the bedroom, and he wanted nothing more than to follow it.

“Unofficially, ahem. It was very, very scary.“

The elf had a way of just looking at him, creating this void of silence that sucked words out of him, but this time, he locked his jaw and refused to let them out.

“Understandable,“ Kandomere nodded lightly. “I understand you were badly hurt, and that a young Bright named Tikka saved you.”

Nick’s defenses melted in relief. This he could talk about freely, at least.

“Yes. I’d been shot, here, and I was falling down this big hole in the ground, but she stopped me, and lifted me out, and- She brougth me back from the dead, you see? But not dead-dead, I think, just dead like in a hospital dead, when people have their heart stopped and say they saw everything from above, but then the doctors save them and they come back. So, she saved me, but, it hurt her, so we had to take her back to the, the Shield of Light hideout,“ he finished a little less enthusiastically, not sure if the Pool was something he should be talking about. It seemed secret, somehow.

“What happened there?“

“The Inferni, they were waiting for us.“

“How many?“

“Three.“

The agent reached into his suit without breaking eye contact, then slid a photo in front of Nick.

“This one?“

“Leilah, yes.“

“And then?“

“We fought. The Inferni were very tough.“

Agent Kandomere appraised him in silence. Nick put forward his very best trustworthy police officer face, trying not to get discouraged by the fact it rarely worked on humans, much less elves.

Kandomere crossed his legs and entwined his fingers on his knee.

“An Inferni coven leader and two of her assassins, losing against two beat cops and a runaway apprentice.“

Nick tried not to squirm.

“Officer Ward is a very good shot.“

“So you’ve mentioned, yes,“ Kandomere said dryly.

Nick cringed. And held his tongue for once, because even he knew he can only make this worse.

The elf drew a breath through parted lips, serrated teeth showing.

“I’m not interested in your partner’s transgressions. If I become interested in the near future, for any reason, I only need to order a ballistic test of the bullets retrieved from the bodies of your colleagues. Am I clear?“

Nick froze. The familiar fury of being bullied and not allowed to fight back settled like fire along his shoulders, over the backs of his hands which he didn’t ball into fists, in his jaw that he did clench because he couldn’t help himself. Instinct told him to growl into the elf’s face, but his instinct was an old thing, filed down over the years just like his tusks.

He didn’t become a cop by standing up to those in power, much as that thought chafed.

Just for a moment, he thought about the prophecy, about the heady feeling of invincibility, about knowing without a shred of doubt that he’s on the right side, standing with the right people, fighting the bad guys. Unequivocally.

And then he let reality come back, because it always came back whether he wanted it or not. He lowered his gaze and pitched his voice to a rumble, although some resentment still leaked through.

“Clear.“

“Well then.“ Kandomere leaned forward, the mask of civility sloughing off him like bad make-up. “We were at two simple cops, one of them a rookie, getting alive out of a confrontation with Leilah and two of her elite assassins.“

Nick didn’t dare to move a muscle.

“Yes.“

Kandomere’s eyes bored into his.

“Tell me. The truth.“

Nick blinked, then dropped his gaze outright.

“Leilah was focused on Tikka, she didn’t care about us. The other two attacked us, but the Shield of Light had some big guns and explosives lying about, so we used those and neutralized them. Then I shot Leilah, and that distracted her just enough for Tikka to kill her, using the wand. The next thing I remember, I was running out of a burning building, Officer Ward right behind me, until I got out and found out he didn’t.“

He hadn’t had time to match the story to Ward’s; he’d tried but Ward had been afraid they were under surveillance. Giving the credit to Tikka was the only option he saw, though.

The agent studied him, motionless. Undoubtedly trying to sniff him out. That wasn’t going to do him much good: the air had to be full of his fury and fear, but those weren’t going to tell the elf anything other than that Nick took his threat seriously.

Kandomere huffed and drew back, cloaking himself in some semblance of his earlier politeness as he went.

“Let me rephrase my request. You are in no danger from me or the agency if you tell me the truth. Whatever you changed or omitted in your official report, it will stay between us. You were two simple men caught in an impossible situation. I do not blame you. I have hunted Leilah for twenty years. I know what she’s capable of. Better men would break.“

Nick frowned, retracing that statement. There was something off about it, something he was missing.

Then it finally clicked.

“You think she’s- No! She’s dead. I was there, I was-“ He looked around him wildly. “Okay, a little further away than from one side of this room to the other, but close enough to see her finger bones when I shot her wand hand. That’s why she dropped the wand, you see? And then, then everything worked out. I saw her explode. She’s dead. I promise you, she’s dead.“

The elf looked like- Actually, Nick didn’t know what he looked like, he was too good at being bland, so long as he wasn’t outright murderous.

He flinched when Kandomere released a breath, and with it, some of his ostentatious indifference.

“Twenty years…“

Nick shifted in his chair, realizing he’s not out of the woods yet. It was never good to put oneself between an elf and his prey.

“You’ll find somebody new to hunt,“ he offered.

He nearly flinched again when Kandomere huffed a laugh. It wasn’t much of one and it didn’t do much to break the tension, but it was there.

“I suppose. The Inferni lost a wand and one of their coven leaders. It’s a setback, not a defeat.“ He pondered it for a moment, then he motioned to Nick. “You and your partner should be careful. Regardless of what the official report says, the Inferni will understand you’ve been involved. They won’t take it kindly.“

Nick nodded. He’d figured it out himself, but it was surprisingly nice of the elf to warn him.

Kandomere watched him again. What was going on in his head, Nick had no idea, but he spent the time trying and failing to come up with something that would naturally move the conversation even further from Ward.

Then the elf reached into the inner pocket of his suit again. This time he didn’t pull out a photo, but a business card which he slid across the table to Nick, face inscrutable.

“You are a brave man, Officer Jakoby. And kind. You aren’t important just to your own people. There’s never enough policemen like you.“

Nick nearly gaped at him.

Kandomere drew back as if he needed to physically distance himself from the compliment. Or maybe from Nick.

“If you do find yourself in danger, contact me. You come across any trace of the Inferni, I want to know about it.“

“Okay,“ Nick managed, too bewildered for anything else.

“Including Tikka,“ Kandomere added.

Nick hoped he didn’t look too guilty at that. But if he did, the agent mercifully pretended not to notice.

“There are three bodies we didn’t recover from the fire: Leilah’s, one of Leilah’s assassin’s, of whom both there was so little left that we couldn’t be sure they died there, and Tikka’s, whose remains we didn’t find at all. I know she’d asked you to protect her and that you fought together, but do remember that being an Inferni deserter doesn’t necessarily make her a good person. If she is alive, she needs to be brought in and questioned.“

“Sure,“ Nick nodded, without any intention whatsoever of turning Tikka in. Although he had to admit that the elf sort of had a point.

Good thing elves couldn’t smell intentions. Kandomere rose in one fluid motion, because of course struggling with an uncooperative chair on a rough floor was beneath an elf.

“Thank you for your time, Officer Jakoby. I won’t take any more of it.“

It was starting to dawn on Nick that the interrogation was over and he passed. Maybe. Probably.

“Happy to help,“ he supplied on autopilot and followed the agent to the door.

He stood there awkwardly while Kandomere donned his disguise again – tucked in that blue hair that never quite started to behave. Nick imagined he will brush it down furiously the moment he gets a second alone with a hairbrush.

Or maybe that was a stereotype, and not all elves were so fanatical about grooming and appearances.

His thoughts were starting to wander away from him again, obviously. The weight of all his scrapes and bruises and sheer exhaustion was making itself known as his adrenalin drained, despite the agent still there.

Kandomere glanced at him and Nick forced a smile and a little wave. The agent’s expression turned weird and Nick belatedly realized he got both a species and the social context wrong for that one.

“Sorry,“ he mumbled.

Kandomere shook his head.

“That’s quite fine,“ he replied, almost as quietly. “Take your rest.“

Nick didn’t bother to tell him he’s going to be back at Ward’s side as fast as possible, or that he won’t rest properly until he can deliver the man to his family. It went without saying, and if it didn’t, then Kandomere didn’t need to know.

He grunted something non-committal while the elf straightened. Compared to the sharp suit underneath, the trenchcoat looked on him like grandfather’s pajamas on an unruly boy. Smelled stale, too, like something that had hanged in the wardrobe for the last five years.

It was probably good that Kandomere merely nodded to him once again and showed himself out, else Nick might have commented something unwise.

In the silence that fell on the little apartment once the sound of Kandomere’s steps faded, Nick strangely felt as if he lost a visitor, rather than got rid of a federal agent who’d threatened him and interrogated him in his own home. Then he realized why: Never, not once, did Kandomere sneer at him and treat him like something only half sentient.

Nick was still scratching his head over that one when he made a beeline for his counter and the meal he needed to prepare.


End file.
